Abstract

PIP: AIDS and cancer researchers have joined with pro-choice advocates in demanding that the FDA restriction on RU-486 be lifted. In addition to offering an alternative to surgical abortion, the drug shows promise in curing some forms of inoperable brain cancer as well as controlling breast cancer. Currently the FDA has placed RU-486 on its important alert list, which means that it is illegal to bring it into the country for any reason. A pregnant American social worker named Leona Benten agreed to serve as a test case for RU-486. She tried to bring some into the country from England, but it was confiscated by US Customs Officials. She then sued the FDA claiming that their regulation of RU-486 was illegal. The US District Court in Brooklyn ruled in Benten's favor, ordering the FDA to return the drug. However, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit overruled this decision, forcing her to appeal to the US Supreme Court. IN a 7-2 vote on July 17, the US Supreme Court denied Benten's petition for the return of the drug. The opinion was unsigned and the Court declined to rule of the constitutionality of the FDA policy. Rep. Ron Wyden introduced H.R 875 which would lift the ban. The manufacturer, Roussel-Uclaf, point to the FDA ban as the primary reason for not seeking approval. The situation serves to illustrate the political effect of the abortion debate in the US.